To provide a regular in-person opportunity for a small, tightly knit group of thoughtful well-rounded people to bounce ideas, talk about common interests and the future, and inspire its members. The group is not about networking for networking's sake, and not about incubating a business, but rather a simple recognition that, as social creatures, we all benefit from getting together in person and expressing ourselves.

Typically, there should be two or three founders. It is important that the founders have an established rapport and social bond. It is also important that there be more than one founder, to ensure the continuity of the group. Founders organize and informally host regular meetings. Ideally, the founders should have a large, growing social network from which to draw in members. Founders nominate and invite enough good candidates to get a large enough group. Other details like meeting time and place can be hammered out after membership is decided.

Who makes a good candidate for membership in a BBC?

Someone might be a great BBCer if he or she:

Has deep passion about something

Lives/works close by and can commit to meet regularly

Has a positive connection with BBC members/founders

Likes to talk about interesting topics

Can make you laugh

Expands the group's perspective

Likes hearing other peoples' ideas

Is brave

Is creative

Reads interesting books

Is really good at something

Is someone you'd like to hang out with more

If you want a smoking crater where your BBC used to be then invite:

Jerks

Narcissists who REALLY want you to hear their ideas and suck the air out of the room

Boring people

Flaky people who rarely show up

People just like you

How big should a BBC be?

Big enough so the average number of people at a gathering is roughly 5-7. Much smaller and conversations can easily stall. Much larger and the conversation may bifurcate. Also, if the group is too small, there may not be enough diversity of personalities to keep things interesting. Depending on the demands on the members' time and their ability to commit to attending meetings regularly, this could ultimately mean anywhere from 7 to 20 total members. Naturally, if membership or attendance falls off, more members should be invited.

Should the BBC have a theme? How about a mission?

This is up to the individual group, but it helps to have a large overlap of shared interests.

What is a meta-BBC?

A collection of affiliated BBC's with a unifying theme, most likely located close to each other, may form a meta-BBC. All members of affiliated BBC's meet on a much less frequent basis (e.g., annually or semi- or bi-annually) at the meta-BBC's "convox" (or conference), to give talks and cross-pollinate. It is also possible, even encouraged, for members of a meta-BBC to attend different BBC group meetings across the meta-BBC. The Silicon Valley BBC was the first meta-BBC, and it has had two Convox IfCon0.1 and Convox 2014.

These details are up to the members of the group. The only requirement is that meetings take place in person. The original BBC found that having a regular schedule (e.g., "every other Thursday at 7:00") and a regular meeting place (e.g., "Moe's Tavern") helps to ensure regular attendance. Also, it is important to keep in mind that the point of meeting is to talk, so choose a place that is fairly quiet.

This is up to the individual group. The original BBC started with an email list, but then moved on to using Google+ Communities, Events, and Google Groups, as these helped with coordination of events and sharing of ideas better.

To help stimulate conversation, each person comes to BBC meetings with at least one question that starts with the phrase "What if", and members take turns posing their questions and discussing them.

What is a "phone stack"?

Quite simply, a phone stack is an agreement amongst members to be "present" at meetings, and not get distracted by devices. Either a physical phone stack or a virtual one are acceptable.

What is an OH tweet?

Sometimes a member says something funny, particularly when taken out of context. These quotes are shared via social media without explanation, but with attribution, as "overheard" quotes. E.g., "OH: The question is: would the crack market be able to absorb $1 trillion per year? @jdoe".

What are field trips?

Just what they sound like - outings outside of the regular meetings. Field trips are a highly encouraged, but not required, feature of a BBC.